Rome and Tivoli

It's Sunday morning, and that means that the Chiesa Sant'Ivo della Sapienza is open! It's an undisputed Borromini masterpiece, and we admire its spiral spire from the rooftop bar of the Senato. The inside, of course, is equally innovative and lush, all in white stone and plaster. The interior dome is made of six alternating convex and concave apses. It's glorious to behold, and we sat there for quite some time before continuing on our way.

We had some difficulties today. We wanted to see the gardens of the Quirinale, which are usually open on Sunday mornings. However, as the kind carabinieri explained to us, "they are closed today for security reasons because they will be open specially next Saturday." Um, OK. Anyway, we took a cab to the bus station and then a packed public bus way up into the hills to Tivoli, where the Villa d'Este so majestically flows down the hillside. Did I say flow? Well, there are supposed to be thousands of fountains jetting into the air, but today, they were shut off! Ira and I have both seen them, so it wasn't a tragedy. we still enjoyed the gardens and trees and statuary on a beautiful late spring day. Ira did a lot of crayon sketches.

Now it's a final dinner and then home tomorrow! See you in the States soon!

Rome on Saturday

Wow, we hoofed it all over the centro today. But first, we took cab to the Piazza del Popolo to visit some of my favorite paintings of all time in the Chiesa Santa Maria there. There is a Pintoricchio in the first chapel on the right that ranks up there with my "comfort paintings." I always stop by when in Rome to admire it. It's simple and warm and just perfect. Of course, the church is more famous for its two Caravaggios. And why not? The Conversion of St. Paul has one of the best horses in painting, as it gingerly steps around the prostrate Saul, exactly as a horse would, with the same look of equine concern. And the compositional genius of having the groom's leg stand in for the delicately raised front hoof of the horse brings this painting from the marvelous to the sublime. The Matyrdom of St. Peter is equally perfect. Who else but Caravaggio would make a workman's ass the first thing you see? And from the rope that digs into the other man's flesh as he struggles to raise the upside-down cross to the dirty foot of the man bearing most of the weight, even to the look of concern on Peter's face, more old man than father of the church at this moment, and I thought, "there is nothing of the divine in this painting; it's all human action."

We just walked back to our hotel after that. They were taking down seats and stands for a 160th anniversary celebration of the Rome police force. We took in the Spanish steps, aglow in the light and packed with colorful flowers and tourists. We stopped by the Fontana di Trevi. Ira reminisced about the Hotel de Fontana right there, where he spent his first nights in Rome way back in 1959 (when the hotel was for the budget-minded and the area was not absolutely jam-packed with tourists. Then it was lunch at Armando al Pantheon, a must-stop for the Roman gourmet. They promote fresh, slow food. My primi was a zucchini flower cooked with tender shrimp that was one of the best things I've eaten in recent memory. My rigatoni with chicken innards ragu was not for the faint of heart, but I love liver and heart, and this was rich and satisfying. We were lucky to get in. We just happened to be there when they opened the doors, and there were only three tables for those without reservations.

A quick rest, then a cab ride to the Palantine where we were supposed to meet up with Rosaria and Valentina for a tour of a recently restored Roman gardens. The weather was threatening, clouds moving quickly in, even a bolt of lightning off in the deep blue to the south. Luckily, the rain held off. Unluckily, we never met up with your friends! But, we both enjoyed the gardens. Ira and I strolled through the Forum, then back to our hotel just as the rain hit. Hopefully it will have stopped before dinner tonight. It's nice to be in the center of Rome just for all the opportunities to walk and see the antiquities.

Rome

It always takes me aback... how wonderful Rome is. I'm more likely to say that Venice is my favorite Italian city, but every time I'm here, Rome feels like home. This morning we took a cab out to the Scuderie del Quirinale to see the big Tintoretto show there. I've never been a huge fan, as he seemed almost slap-dash in comparison to other Renaissance and late-Renaissance and Mannerist painters. But seeing paintings grouped together always makes you appreciate an artist more as you get to see what is style and substance in an artist's repertoire. Turns out the flamboyant, quick gesture is what Tintoretto specialized in. My favorite story was that instead of producing a sketch for a competition for a Venetian Scuole, Tintoretto just painted the work on spec and gave it to them as a gift. End of contest. Our favorite painting, though, was Susanna and the Elders, which Ira and I had just seen in San Francisco. It's still terrific, with the prying old man's bald head poking out of the canvas space towards the viewer, putting us in the same uncomfortable position of Susannah. The show starts off with a bang, featuring Tintoretto's electrifying debut on the grand Italian stage of great painters. The Miracle of the Slave is incandescent, as it boldly features the rescued slave, his naked body surround by the broken implements of torture.

Next up was the Ara Pacis museum, not for the altar, but for the works of avant-garde and modernist russian art in the space below. Ira went in before me while I photographed some interesting buildings in the neighborhood, but when I went it, it was an education. Many of these paintings and painters are rarely seen outside of Mother Russia, so it was fun to get a fresh look at a movement that I thought was old hat.

Another taxi ride, this on to MAXXI, Zaha Hadid's wonderful contemporary museum. We've been trying to go here for years, and it was such a delight to go inside and see how it all works. It's complex but never confusing, large but never massive. In Ira's words, "it makes everything else look old-fashioned." The art was a mixture, but with many high notes. A walk-through camera obscura, where you followed a docent along a pitch-black walkway, holding onto a handrail until you see the inverted image of the neighboring buildings. It was great fun of course.

Now, we're having a well-deserved rest and getting ready for another rooftop drink and then leisurely outside dinner.

Florence to Rome

We had no problems on the trip from Firenze to Roma. Don and Alexa live close enough so that we just wheeled our luggage to the stazione. We bought tickets at a machine and 20 minutes later were seated next to Italian businessmen having animated conversations in first class. The countryside is beautiful, flat lands, hills, some kind of tufa-like cliffs. Of course, we recognized Orvieto when we passed. Many great memories of the Signorelli frescoes there. If I have a complaint about this trip, it's missing the Signorelli show in Perugia. Once can't do everything, but he's a painter I admire and adore. Even the cab ride to the Albergo al Senato from the Roma Termine station was shorter than I expected, though the driver talked nonstop into his telephoning. I can't call it a conversation, more of a harangue.

Piazza della Rotunda is generally crowded with tourists, and today was no exception. Once we were rested from our trip, we first went into the building to see a great beam of light flowing from the aperture in the roof. Next, we headed to Piazza Navona for a quick lunch. It's touristy but one of the cafes that lines the piazza, Tucci, is quite good. I had their risotto all creme di scampi, which is perfect. Of course, we finished the meal across the way with tartufi di chocolate from Tr Scalini. Ira sketched a bit, and we watched the piazza performers, paint, draw, pose, busk and sell.

We stopped quickly into the Sant'Andrea della Valle to admire its rich baroque interior. The paintings of the martyrdom of Saint Andrew are powerful, and "read" across the length of the church. There aren't any great paintings per se, but the lush baroque stylings and rich detailing make this a wonderful church to visit.

After a nap, we met Rosaria and Valentina at the hotel's rooftop deck for a drink before dinner. The sun was setting over the rooftops of Rome. We talked politics, both office and national, as bats wheeled around in the suddenly cool air. Sea gulls glowed in the dusk as they landed on a construction crane to the north. The Pantheon's roof was wonderful in that light. Of course, everything looks beautiful in that Mediterranean glow.

We ate dinner at a simple pizzeria around the corner at Valentina's suggestion. Our meal was good and Roman. Ira and I both had the grilled vegetables, fritto misti alla Romana. I started with a cacio and pepe pasta. We finished our evening after midnight at an old gelateria, one of the first big facilities in Rome, which really hit its stride in the '50s. Now, it's off to bed and a busy day tomorrow.

I Tatti and Florence

Our host, Alexa, works at I Tatti, Harvard's Center for the Study of the Renaissance. After three trips to Florence, we finally got the opportunity to visit her there. Ira sketched in the garden while Alexa took me on a tour. The controversial frescoes in the reading room by Rene Piot were fairly dreadful. (Berenson hated them when he saw them in progress; the two had a falling out and the uncompleted frescoes were covered for decades. They were only uncovered in the '70s, I think. Still, they are intriguing, with lots of naked bodies cavorting and working the fields in some sort of erotic social realism. One fellow on the right was doing the downward dog, and I had to wonder if this was an explicit yoga reference or something more coincidental.) But, of course, there are many wonderful paintings there as well, and the house, library and new additions all harmoniously placed there on the hillside in Fiesole.

We had met the director and his wife in San Francisco, and they were gracious in welcoming us to i Tatti, a completely charming couple. If you're a Renaissance scholar, I hope you get the opportunity to study and perhaps stay there. And, if you would just like to support the wonderful work they do there… Before going off to work, Alexa showed me around the gardens, which were beautiful and immaculately maintained. The cypress hedges must have been edged with a laser. They were perfectly squared. The roses were just ending, though many other flowers were in full riot, including the aromatic jasmine that had Ira practically swooning as he sketched.

Lunch, again, was at Sostanza. Yesterday, almost all Italian businesspeople. Today, mostly American tourists with only one lone local representative. I had the pasta al sugo to start, crunchy penne with a rich meat sauce, then finished up with lombata di vitello, veal chop, that was succulent, perfectly cooked, and just perfect after an overcast morning. Some vino rosso della cassa and that wonderful meringue dessert, and it was a good day! Two lunches in two days at my favorite restaurant in the world; I'm doin' something right!

The sun came out as we strolled across the city, but there wasn't a line at the Uffizi, so we had to go in and spend a couple of hours with some of the most magnificent paintings in the universe. Alongside the obvious masterpieces, I was taken by a Luca Signorelli painting. His Crucifixion with St. Mary Magdalene was superb, modern and moving. Mary's face, in particular, was so strong and sensitive and beautiful. The foreground figures are so powerful, it took me a while to notice the blank white moonscape in the background. It gave the painting such a modern feeling, as if Signorelli was capturing some future muse. If you are planning a trip to Italy, you could do worse than see his magnificent frescoes at the Cathedral in Orvieto. Michelangelo stopped by to see them before continuing on to paint the Sistine Chapel. There are also two small works by Boticelli, odd takes on the biblical tale of Judith beheading Holofernes. It's a common painting subject, but most often the actual beheading is the grisly scene. Botticelli takes two different looks at it: the discovery of the headless body by his men, and the triumphal carrying of the head by Judith and her maid back to their camp. I'm not sure that any other painting has covered that territory! We hadn't expected to go to the galleries at all due to the crowds, so this was an unexpected pleasure.

Now, we're relaxing before our last dinner in Florence, then off to Rome tomorrow.

Pistoia to Florence

We had enough time to visit the Ospedale del Ceppo with its glorious glazed terra-cotta frieze. Ira and I both thought it was by della Robbia, but it was done by a contemporary Santi Buglioni. The Wikipedia has an interesting tidbit about how Buglioni learned of the glazing secrets of della Robbia after DR went to France to escape the plaque. It seems a "woman" was involved. Sounds like a great story to follow up on. Thanks knowledgeable Wikipedia editor!

. And ceppo means tree trunk, which is apparently where offerings for the hospital were left. Another fascinating tale, though this time from another source, Michelin.

We didn't have time for the underground tour of Pistoia, but that sounds like a must for next time in Tuscany. Apparently, you can travel under most of the city, seeing medieval and Roman ruins. I wish we'd have more time!

We had to drive into Florence and be at Don and Alexa's house by noon however. We took the national route and made it all the way into the centro in good time and without any mistakes. We even found a parking spot right in front of their door. (Think impossibly narrow cobble-stoned alley in impossibly trafficked touristy neighborhood right by the train station to get an idea of how lucky we were. We unloaded the bags, returned the car, and had time for luck at my favorite restaurant in the world, Sostanza, nicknamed Il Troia (The Trough) because of its communal tables. Don and Alexa live two doors up from here, so we always get treated like locals (including getting a real doggy bag for Lucy, the best dog in Florence!) I had the finocchiana, a fennel sausage that is moist and flavorful. Ira then had the tortellini al burro, which they buy just around the corner. Just simple pasta, but so flavorful. Then, I had the tortino al carciofi, basically an artichoke omelet, also swimming in butter. Not a good place for cholesterol. We finished the meal by sharing the meringue, a wonderful confection of thin meringue, whipped cream, and fraises de bois. Incredible. We hope to get in tomorrow. It's a popular place with both Italian businesspeople and tourists.

Next up was a two-minute walk to Basilica Santa Maria Novella. It's famous for its Masaccio crucifixion, it's Ghirlandaio frescoes and stained glass, and it's Filippino Lippi frescoes. I'm not going to link all those nouns. Look 'em up yourself. The Masaccio is brilliant, early perspective done in this odd but compelling pink color. One of its innovations is to have God, the Father, in a crucifixion scene, almost unheard of. And what a God he is, seeming to hold up the arms of the cross both as a stern father who is making sure his son goes through with the torment, and as a comfort, supporting his son in his final agony. There is something about the psychology of this painting that makes me think in modern terms, even if my interpretation is unorthodox or just wrong. The fresco cycles in the Strozzi chapel and the main altar are extraordinary as well. The colors are fresh as new paint, and Lippi's modeling makes the figures stand out from the wall. They're strangely modern, almost pre-Raphaelite. If you're in Florence, don't miss this church. Just the dimensions are perfect.

There's going to be a big gelato festival in town starting tomorrow. (Ira swears it's a coincidence.) They were setting up booths in various piazzae around town. We had a drink in Piazza Repubblica, then came home to meet Valentina, and move into her place while she's in Rome. (We're meeting her and Rosaria there on Thursday.) Tonight was dinner with Don and Alexa. The food was wonderful, but the company overshadowed what we ate. What a great night of conversation with old friends. The best reason to travel!

May 21, Pisa

Driving rain on the drive out of town… what happened to sunny Tuscany. As we approached the final hills before the plain to the sea, however, blue skies were opening up. It took until about noon for the bright sunshine to eclipse the clouds, but it did prevail. Ira navigated us smartly to the Piazza dei Miracoli. We also scored a great parking spot just steps from this monumental tourist attraction, so it was a double bonus. The crowds were already large by the time we got there, but I got us tickets in a lull, and we started with the Camposanto. The frescos, badly damaged as

they are even after restoration, are incredible. Color are delicate. The theme of the triumph of death in my favorite fresco aligns perfectly with this burial place. Although many of the graves are old, we saw one for someone who had did in 2009. Not as good as a mobster being buried in the Vatican, but still… pretty classy.

We both found the architecture more stirring than most of the artworks in the cathedral and the baptistry. The baptistry in fact was a bit annoying, with constant tour guide chatter being constantly shushed by the attendants. The exterior with its light Gothic second story was charming. We watched it in shadow bright sunshine, and mixed light from the clouds that floated overhead. Charming in all lights. Similarly, the cathedral was gorgeous on the outside, particularly the bronze doors with their marvelous bas-reliefs and delicate leaf work. Inside, only the pulpit, by Giovanni Pisani, takes ones breath away. Both Ira and I love

representations of the Slaughter of the Innocents, and this one had a carved panel that was terrifying and terrific.

Of course, the tower is leaning. It's become the focal point of the piazza, where once the Camposanto held the most interest for travelers. Tastes change, and the frescoes are now damaged, but I can't help thinking there's kind of a freakshow aspect to the tower. We did watch a video of the detailed and sometime fraught reconstruction of the support for the tower after its slippage in the '90s. Score one for Italian engineering, even if the original designer botched the job!

After a few hours enjoying the sun and the sights, we drove up to Viareggio for lunch. Of course, it's much too early for the summer season to have started, but the sun was warm, and we had a simple meal overlooking the cabanas and umbrellas of one of the private beaches in town. Now we're resting before our final night in Pistoia. We're going to do a simple dinner of pizza or pasta and then get an early start to Florence tomorrow to wave goodbye to the car for the rest of the trip.

Lucca

We had a driving day today, made a bit more difficult by the copious amounts of rain, but we managed! Instead of the autostrada, the big freeways denoted in green, we took the national route, a road that snakes through hills and towns, denoted with blue signs. They allow for a more leisurely perusal of the countryside and locales. Our first discovery was the train station at Montacatini Terme, a wonderful example of modern architecture by Angiolo Mazzoni. He was a Fascist and Futurist, and built a succession of public works during the '20s and '30s. We passed it in the car, then both looked at each other and turned around for a more detailed look. It was well worth the deviation. It was detailed and still in its original form, with strong horizontal position marked off by a dramatic knife of a tower. The stonework was also detailed.

Lucca is a popular Tuscan destination, and why not? It's an old walled city with towers and churches and good food. Inside the walls the land rises up to meet them, and there's a popular strolling and jogging path along most of it.

Our first stop was the Cathedral of St. Martin. It was a Sunday, and there was a large antiques fair in the piazza in front of the church and snaking around the surrounding area. It was a bit bedraggled with the rain, but they were making the most of the opportunity. Inside, the church contains some wonderful pieces, nothing famous but several glorious paintings, including one by Ghirlandaio, The Virgin Mary with the Holy Child among Saints Peter, Clement Papa, Paul and Sebastian, that rewarded close attention.

We wandered around looking for a suitable lunch place and came across the lovely San Michele in Foro with an intricate facade of columns and arches and statues and more detail than you could ever hope to drink in just on one visit. I'd like to get a book with more detailed descriptions of this Pisan type of architecture. We did find our restaurant, Osteria de Leo, where we sat outside under an enormous umbrella where we were protected from the rain. Luckily, it wasn't cold, just wet.

After that, it was just a simple stroll back to the car, though we did stop at the amazing Piazza dell'Anfiteatro, which is the site of an old Roman amphitheater. Now, it's just a square, but in oval shape and surrounded by the most lovely collection of buildings. They're not fancy, just all of a piece, and it's a marvelous spot just to sit and relax. We took the autostrada home after that, and then had dinner at the same restaurant we did the day previously. This time, I focused more on meat than vegetables, and had a lovely Florentine steak, aged dry as they tend to do, but softened with a touch of olive oil and some tender tomatoes. Oh, and we did have a drink in the piazza before dinner, but inside the bar, which was dark and wooden with arched brick vault ceilings. Much fun. Today, it's off to Pisa!

Venice Interludes I

Our hotel, the otherwise perfect Ca' Pisani, didn't have reliable Wi-fi, and I was tired of fighting it so didn't blog for the first week. As recompense, I'll be filling in some details during my downtimes, sharing some stories and photos. Oh, and there was the whole Ira near-death experience too! Ira had the chills so bad he wasn't merely shaking, he was spasming, and we had to decide between water ambulancia or in-room doctor. The thought of being loaded by stretcher onto a boat and taken splashing through the canals of Venice daunted the seriously sick Ira, so we opted for the dottore. He came in, diagnosed the problem, predicted Ira would have a raging fever in two hours, prescribed some medicine, and was on his way. By the time I got back with the pills, Ira was sweating profusely, and though no less sick, on the quick mend. A day of recovery and Ira was back to his old self. Phew!

Our first real day together, we had a guided tour of a ridotto, which is a perfectly preserved specimen of a small gambling hall that was common in the 18th century in Venice. Our friends Alice and Billy from San Francisco joined us and our tour guide Elena for a small, intimate gathering. Ridotto means reduced, and these were small salons designed to encourage bad behavior, whether gambling or illicit affairs. Carnevale used to last for four months, the entire winter, and Venetians would enter these ridottos masked to disguise their identities. It was a time of mixing genres, rich and poor, male and female, everyone masked and ready for fun. As these dens proliferated, the Venetian authorities closed them down and opened THE Ridotto, which is considered the world's first official gambling hall.

The Alliance Francaise rents the rooms now, and they have kept it open for private tours. The decorations were fine and delicate, as befitting such frivolous usage. There were wonderful little touches, like a tile in the front parlor that you could remove to spy on people entering the risotto. We got to lift up the tile and watch the more pedestrian tourists walk unknowingly by on the walkway below. There was a small mezzanine shielded by heavy, ornate screens where musicians used to play to the frolicking locals (and also where someone could spy on the goings on). The tilework was ingenious, the decoration a whimsical mix of mirrors and flowers and light colors. Completely delightful.

And, just for the record, I beat Rick Steves to this by two days. (He still wins on the whole "tens of thousands of adoring fans who copy his advice and are probably the better for it, but I'll take what tiny victories I can.)

Our next stop on the guided tour was the Patriarch's banquet hall. It's separated from the Doge's Palace by St. Marks. Initially, it was connected by a private corridor that ran behind the cathedral, but Napoleon, when he conquered the Venetian states, closed that corridor and gave the hall to the Patriarch, the reigning bishop of Venice, as a sort of political power play. There was a large ceiling fresco, not Tiepolo unfortunately, but strong and notable for its large size.

We were the last ones to leave St. Marks because we were with Elena, so we took the opportunity to have a solo look at the marvelous bronze horses that once stood outside St. Marks. They are so alive after the centuries, a symbol of power and conquest. Originally of Greek origin, they were taken to Constantinople, seized by the Venetians, then penultimately taken as war booty by Napoleon back to Paris. It was the famed sculptor Canova who brokered their return back to St. Marks, else we might see them in the Louvre to this day. With the murky provenance, they might ultimately belong to Greece, but I'm happy they are so well tended in Venice. I think they like it there!

Venice to Pistoia

Woke up in Venice, took the vaporetto to Piazzale Roma where we rented a car and drove it to the middle of Tuscany, Pistoia to be exact. The drive was smooth, went at about 120 kilometers per hour the entire way on the autostrada. We stopped at Chef Express for a quick lunch, where we saw a cool orange McLaren with gull-wing doors. (For Chef Express, think Stuckey's.) Pistoia is a lovely old town. Patria Hotel is right in the middle of town, which is great for being a tourist, not so great for actually driving up to the town. We stopped to ask directions, used Google Maps, got lucky, and finally pulled up to the cobble-stoned alley fronting the hotel. It was raining heavily, but we managed to offload the luggage and park the car without getting too waterlogged. By the time we'd napped for about an hour, the skies had cleared, and we went on the passagata. Pistoia has a lovely one, streets thronged with people of all ages, walking, chatting, shopping, eating gelato, making out… For a while we sat in a little piazza and had whiskeys while all of Pistoia walked by. There was a demonstration protesting violence against women. They marched around the market with flags and banners and signs and eventually ended up about two blocks away for a well-attended rally.

Ira and I strolled over to Basilica of Our Lady of Humility and discovered a concert taking place inside, flute by Federica Baronti and concert harp by Diana Colosi. Here's a YouTube video of them, but it's terribly cheesy and not at all as beautiful as what we heard. It was lovely to sit in that acoustically perfect octagon and let the notes wash over us. We applauded excitedly, as did the other 50 or so people in attendance. Next, we walked over to the main cathedral, a handsome building done in that black and white horizontal stripe design common to so many Tuscan churches. The paintings and works inside were not by famous painters, but several of them were breathtaking, including one of Mary holding the baby Jesus while John the Baptist points to the future Savior. It's a common theme, but this version was both fresh and formal. I'll take a picture of it and post it later.

We finished the evening off with an expansive dinner at La BotteGaia, one of the more popular spots in town. We can believe that because our meal was so spectacular, we are returning tomorrow night. My standout dish of the evening was an asparagus risotto. Ira's favorite was the soft terrine, with pork and the bitter chocolate dessert. Can't wait to go back. Tomorrow, it's off to Lucca!